Blue Sunshine (1977) Plot Summary Explained

The hair falling off reveals that Frannie is already bald underneath, which signals that he has been affected by Blue Sunshine, the same LSD that causes users to lose their hair and become homicidally psychotic years later. The shock of being exposed as bald in front of others triggers his violent psychotic break, making him attack everyone around him.

• blue sunshine drug
• frannie scott
• psychotic break
• hair loss
• LSD effects

Jerry becomes the prime suspect because he was the only person who survived Frannie's attack and fled the scene. The police arrive to find multiple bodies and Jerry running away, making him the obvious suspect despite having done nothing wrong.

• jerry zipkin
• fugitive
• false accusation
• police hunt

The drug has an extremely long latency period, users who took Blue Sunshine a decade ago are now experiencing its delayed effects. The LSD triggers a slow-acting biological process that eventually causes both hair loss and violent psychotic breaks, though the exact mechanism is not fully explained in the film.

Foreshadowing: Earlier investigation reveals a similar mass murder by a bald police officer, hinting at the delayed nature of the drug's effects.

• blue sunshine LSD
• delayed effects
• ten years
• drug timeline
• chromosome damage

Ed Flemming was the dealer who supplied Blue Sunshine to college students ten years earlier. He has since built a respectable political career and is running for Congress. He lies to protect his political future and avoid exposure as a former drug dealer whose product caused multiple murders.

• ed flemming
• politician
• lies
• drug dealer
• cover up

Wendy is another victim of Blue Sunshine. Like other users, she has lost her hair and developed homicidal psychosis from the drug's delayed effects. She was babysitting two children and was about to murder them when Jerry arrives and saves them.

• wendy flemming
• blue sunshine victim
• babysitter
• attempted murder

Baldness is the visible side effect that signals someone has been affected by Blue Sunshine. The drug causes both hair loss and violent psychotic breaks, with the baldness appearing as a precursor or indicator that the user is about to become homicidally dangerous.

• baldness
• blue sunshine victims
• hair loss
• violence trigger

Wayne Mulligan was a heavy user of Blue Sunshine ten years earlier as Ed Flemming's campaign manager. The drug's delayed effects have now activated, causing him to lose his hair and go on a violent psychotic rampage through the mall's discotheque, attacking patrons including Alicia and a police detective.

• wayne mulligan
• mall rampage
• blue sunshine user
• discotheque attack

The test reveals that Wayne has extensive chromosome damage caused by Blue Sunshine. This scientific evidence proves the drug's link to violent behavior, showing that Blue Sunshine causes permanent genetic damage that leads to both baldness and homicidal psychosis.

• chromosome damage
• genetic damage
• blue sunshine evidence
• medical test

Jerry uses a paraldehyde dart gun as a non-lethal way to incapacitate the psychotic Blue Sunshine victims. Paraldehyde is a sedative that can temporarily paralyze a person, allowing Jerry to stop Wayne's rampage without killing him and preserve him for medical testing that can prove the drug's effects.

• paraldehyde
• dart gun
• tranquilizer
• capture wayne mulligan

The film ends with the ominous revelation that 255 doses of Blue Sunshine remain unaccounted for, implying that more former users could undergo the same transformation and go on killing sprees. This leaves the story with an unresolved, looming threat.

• 255 doses
• remaining blue sunshine
• unaccounted
• sequel threat
• unresolved ending

Jerry proves his innocence by capturing Wayne Mulligan alive and having him tested, which confirms the chromosomal damage caused by Blue Sunshine. This scientific evidence demonstrates that the violent acts are drug-induced, not committed by Jerry, clearing his name.

• prove innocence
• jerry exonerated
• wayne test
• evidence

Ten years before the film takes place, a group of college students took a new form of LSD called Blue Sunshine, which was supplied by dealer Ed Flemming. These former students are now the bald, violent killers terrorizing the city, including Frannie Scott, Wendy Flemming, and Wayne Mulligan.

• college students
• original users
• ed flemming dealer
• ten years ago